New Jersey Prosecutor Overturns 1994 Murder Conviction

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Posted: October 24, 2013 6:00 PM

Today the Somerset County, New Jersey, Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano filed a motion conceding that Gerald Richardson’s murder conviction should be reversed after he spent 19 years in prison. Richardson was convicted of the 1994 murder of Monica Reyes based largely on the testimony of a forensic dentist who testified that Richardson’s teeth matched to a bite mark found on the victim’s body. New DNA testing of a swab taken from the bite mark excludes Richardson as the source and points to another male perpetrator.

In responding to the Innocence Project’s motion to reverse Richardson’s conviction, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano concedes that the new DNA evidence “is the sort that would probably change a jury’s view of the evidence,” and agrees that the conviction should be reversed. But Soriano has not yet consented to dismissing the indictment.

Richardson will next appear in the Somerset County Superior Court on Monday, October 28 and the Innocence Project will urge the court to release Richardson from prison while the prosecution decides how to proceed on the case.